Kokei Stance Primer

General Strategy

Lau has a single stance called Kokei. Unlike some other stances in VF there is no way to enter Kokei from a neutral state - Lau mostly enters the Kokei stance by pressing (with a few exceptions) after certain attacks.

Kokei is an almost completely offensive stance. This is made most obvious by the fact that Lau has a very fast forward dash in Kokei, but his only option for moving backwards is a backward walk () with moves at a glacial pace. His forward dash though is killer - It's fast, can be quickly repeated to close long distances, and has an added property of being completely impervious to high attacks throughout the entire animation of the dash.

Almost all attacks from Kokei are linear mids, and there are no low attacks from the stance. This is a key weakness to be aware of when planning an offense from Kokei, and making use of the guard break and delaying attacks is important to mix up your offense.

Frame Bonus

Kokei also has a property which may not be immediately obvious, in that you receive a 'frame bonus' when entering the stance. Each attack which can transition into Kokei has a particular frame bonus attached. For example the frame bonus for ,, is +2 frames. So the normal frame data for ,, will change by +2 frames if you were to press to enter Kokei, as per the example below:

,,

Code:

Grd       Hit        CH
+1        +4        +8

,,, then into Kokei

Code:

Grd       Hit        CH
+3        +6        +10

This is important as reading the frame data from the command list alone may not give you the full picture of your advantage. It's also important because there are four moves which transition into Kokei ( ,,, ,,, , ,), where the frame bonus will give you enough advantage to continue to attack even if your initial attack was guarded! (from Kokei) is a key tool for applying pressure in these situations and forcing your opponent into a defensive state.

Below are the attacks which can transition into Kokei, including the frame bonus given when moving into Kokei.

Attacks into Kokei

, +2 frames

, +4 frames

(no frame bonus, automatically transitions to Kokei)

, +4 frames

,, +2 frames

,, then (N/A, attack cancel)

,, +2 frames

, +1 frames

Charged +, whilst charging (N/A, attack cancel)

+2 frames

, +2 frames

Attacks from Kokei

- Will float on any hit and importantly is very fast at only 14 frames. With the frame bonus into Kokei, there are four attacks which if guarded, you still have enough frame advantage to beat the fastest speed attacks (such as & )

,, - Highly versatile option from Kokei. The first will stagger on crouch, effectively guaranteeing that the remainder of the string will hit. The last will slam for a combo on any hit, but is punishable at -14 on guard.

Both the second and third attacks are delayable. If the second strikes on counter-hit, the last is guaranteed (with the fastest timing) for a combo. Mix up your attack options by delaying either of the followup attacks or use to end your string and launch into another attack.

(then ) - This hit throw will be successful on any hit. at first glance seems like a better option for damage, given that it is also mid and faster than . However against crouching opponents the float given by is quite low, limiting your damage. The float against heavyweight characters will similarly be low, so weigh up your options on using this attack.

- Frame wise it's a slower move, but you might not even notice it, as it will beat out any high attack. Has long range and will knockdown on any hit. Being only -3 when guarded and pushing the opponent back a distance also makes it fairly safe and a good all round poking tool. With your opponent against a wall it's a strong option as any hit will cause a wall splat.

- On the surface it's not a great move, being high and also quite slow. But it will break a guard for a guaranteed , combo. It's worth noting that players can fuzzy guard this attack. At 23 frames it's by far the slowest attack from Kokei. As all other attacks from Kokei are mids, all the opponent has to do is guard standing for 17 frames (slowest mid) then switch to crouching guard to duck the , nullifying your attack options. Once the opponent gets wise to this, start delaying Lau's various mid attacks to hit them after they crouch.

and follow ups - Lau's only circular attack from Kokei. On counter-hit (including when the opponent is hit during an attempted evade) both the and followups are guaranteed. The followup is delayable and if is guarded, even a delayed cannot be interrupted (excepting sabakis, reversals etc.). is high, however it can't be fuzzied in the manner described for as it's as fast as Lau's mid attack options, so if the opponent is immediately moving into a crouching guard they are gambling that you won't simply use one of the numerous mids from Kokei.

- I'll be damned if I can find a use for this attack. It's fast at 14 frames, but then so is , which isn't -14 on guard! Use if you enjoy high stakes gambling.

 

Nice writeup. ++, can also go into kokei with the same advantage as the other two examples you gave (+3 on block, +6 on normal hit). Though it's 5 frames slower than + and has a different hit level, it's easier to do from neutral for many newer players, including me. Not sure how valuable that ultimately is, though. Another attack cancel into kokei is hold + then but I'm assuming this is never used.

Sometimes I use if I enter kokei at a bigger disadvantage than I planned, since it seems to beat 2P when + or anything else doesn't. With that said, does cancelling kokei with let you block immediately, or is there some delay compared to a normal guard? Since it's an offensive stance, I've never thought about it.

 

Good stuff! You can enter kokei from neutral by cancelling p+k, this can be useful in oki situations, or when you're at mid distance with your opponent's back to the wall.

Don't forget that an additional way of mixing things up is by simply not going into kokei and just doing a throw or something, this can be very effective if your opponent is used to the kokei mixups.

 

Thanks for the overview. Some small stuff I discovered playing Lau recently.

kokei K gives You a very damaging combo opportunity when the opponent is back to a wall.

And kokei guardcrush gives +17 on block. Nice for 46P+K spinning wallstagger setups.
My personal favourite transition is 2P+K to kokei.
Hits mid and the blockstun gives a bit more time to think about what to do next.

And a note about the 33PP,4P+K P and 2_3PP transitions: Although the strings all go into a high hitting move the opponent seems to be unable to 2P inbetween. He's "jailed" into blocking the 2nd hit when he blocks the first attack.
All around very strong transitions.

 

Whoops can't believe I missed this one. Another move where you have enough advantage on block to keep attacking. Slower than , but it's a special mid rather than a high so it's well worth it.

Aaaaand yet another way to enter Kokei. Thanks guys